


Captain Swan Investigations

by xHookedonKillianx



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ghost Hunters, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 06:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17955593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHookedonKillianx/pseuds/xHookedonKillianx
Summary: True Crime, Hidden Feelings, and Ghosts... oh my!





	Captain Swan Investigations

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a Halloween one shot but, you know, the muse decided to take a little trip. At least I got it finished for @csmarchmadness !! Thank you to my lovely @pirateherokillian for editing and I hope you enjoy!

Emma’s not sure when or how it started, all she knows is that it was in high school, and it was something she did on the side and never really spoke about because, honestly, it’s a little weird. Well, not weird to her, but others might find the fact that she’s obsessed with crime documentaries strange. Still, when she had nothing to do or she found herself lounging around, there was always some sort of crime documentary on the TV.

She followed that passion all the way into college, making criminal justice her major which is where she met Graham Humbert. He was her professor’s TA and the one that suggested she start a YouTube channel after he caught her on multiple occasions in the court yard watching docs on her iPad.

_“You’d be surprised with how many people are interested in that stuff.”_

_“Yeah, but I don’t know the first thing about filming or setting up a channel.”_

_“My boyfriend is minoring in film, I can ask him.”_

Which is how she met Liam Jones, and how she was finally forced to introduce herself to her secret crush, Liam’s younger brother, Killian. She’d known him—they have the same history class—for about six months, but she’d never actually _spoken_ to him. She had preferred to admire his dark hair, crystal blue eyes, and perfectly sculpted scruff from afar…

Don’t _even_ get her started on his accent.

At first, he was just in the background helping Liam and he barely spoke. Which was fine with her because she really didn’t know _what_ to say to him. But then it was all the time and she started to think he didn’t like her, but every Friday night, he was there with Liam, helping them set up, watching her segment and then joining them all for a drink after despite the fact that he would actively avoid talking to her.

It was by accident that they fell into conversation, really. Emma was having a hard time researching one of her subjects when Liam offered Killian’s services, and that’s how their friendship began. He would show up on Friday with details she didn’t know about, still staying behind the scenes, but helping way more than she thought possible. It wasn’t until Graham uploaded a behind the scenes video to her channel of her and Killian bantering over the theory of aliens that things changed.

According to Graham—he was the one that ran the YouTube channel in the beginning—her viewers all but _demanded_ Killian be in more episodes, something about liking their dynamic and the rest was history. Her viewer numbers doubled after he joined—not surprising, he was fucking _hot_ —and her little show became so much more.

“The last theory,” Killian begins with a bit of mirth in his voice, “is one I know you’re going to enjoy, Swan.”

“Really?”

“Aye… aliens.”

“Oh _god_.”

Emma is just barely able to hold back from dropping her head onto the table while Killian explains the alien’s theory of the Dyatlov Pass incident. He was always more enthusiastic with these explanations than her, always wanting to believe that there was more out there while she always stuck to the facts and what she could see right in front of her.

“You at least have to admit there is some merit, love.”

“No, I don’t,” she scoffs out in a laugh. “There is no evidence to prove that there was an alien attack!”

“Well, to be fair, we wouldn’t _know_ what evidence of an alien attack would look like, now would we?”

He wiggles his frustratingly perfect eyebrows at her, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement while she shakes her head despite the smile that’s pulling at her lips.

“I… don’t even know what to say to that.” He nods twice, his lips pressed together in a ridiculous grin and she can’t help the chuckle that escapes the back of her throat before looking back to the camera. “Given the years that have passed, it’s likely we’ll never know what truly happened, so for now, all we can do is wonder.”

“Wonder if aliens attacked.”

“Killian,” she laughs, finally dropping her head into her hands while he snickers.

“ _Swan_ ,” he whines, and she presses her lips together. “You know what next week is, right?”

Heaving out a deep sigh, she folds her hands in front of her and gives a tight nod. “How could I forget? With Halloween coming up, we are going to keep with our tradition of going to a—” She holds up her hands to mimic quotation marks that makes Killian laugh. “— _haunted_ place in hopes to find ghosts. You know, I really have to blame you viewers for this, because before this knucklehead joined, there’s no _way_ I would have done something like this and you guys did nothing but encourage him.”

“That’s because ghosts are real, and Swan here is just a wee bit frightened.”

“Uh, no, that’s—”

“Would you like to hear where our viewers are sending us this year?”

Rolling her eyes, she sighs, “I guess.”

“This year, they’ve chosen Gold Manor, a house that’s said be over a hundred years old and has had more than few supernatural encounters.”

“Of course it has.”

“The manor belonged to Rumple Gold, the owner of a local steel mill and is supposedly haunted by his wife Milah who died there under suspicious circumstances.”

“He killed her, didn’t he?”

Killian lifts a shoulder as he looks down to his pieces of paper. “It was rumored that she was leaving him to be with her lover and Gold killed her before she could.”

Throwing a smirk toward the camera, she nods, “I knew it.”

“The official cause of death is heart failure, _but_ everyone suspected the old man. Now, people say Milah Gold haunts the manor, looking for other lonely souls and helping them find the love she was denied from having in her life.”

Frowning, she mumbles, “That’s kind of sad, Jones.”

“It is, it’s even more sad when you hear her lover was so distraught, that he spent the rest of his life trying to avenge her death.”

“Okay,” she turns to him with her brows together. “I thought this was supposed to be about spooks and being scared, not about heartbreaking stories?”

“Well, since I know you love to pretend you don’t believe in ghosts—” She rolls her eyes. “—I figured I’d give you something to look up which is Milah’s case.”

Trying to pretend that his thoughtfulness doesn’t make her stomach flip, she shakes her head before turning back to the screen. “Well, there you have it, folks. Next week Killian and I will be filming at Gold manor. See you then.”

* * *

One of Emma’s favorites things about them going on these little trips is the Henley Killian always wears. It pulls tight across his biceps and after a while, he’ll push his sleeves up to reveal his ink covered forearms—her favorite tattoo of his is the anchor with vines wrapped around it on his left forearm—and when they walk into Gold Manor, she’s not disappointed.

They spend the first hour in the manor walking around so they can map out where they are going to film and setting up light fixtures in spots it’s too dark for Liam to film. It’s light and fun and her and Liam get a great kick out of making Killian jump two feet in the air when they scare the shit out of him.

When they have everything figured out, Liam lifts his camera up onto his shoulder and Killian does what he always does before they begin filming… he wraps his fingers around her hand and lifts it to his lips where he places a light kiss to her knuckles after whispering, “Good show, love,” and her stomach flips.

“Okay, even I have to admit,” Emma starts as they walk up their stairs twenty minutes into their filming, “this place is a little creepy.”

“That’s because of all the ghosts that reside here.”

Emma rolls her eyes at the camera, not missing the small chuckle that comes from Liam as she nods.

“Of course it is, Killian, because it has nothing to do with the fact that this place is over a hundred years old and is in serious need of demolition.”

“They can’t demo it,” Killian explains as he shines his light down the hall. “Historical landmark and all, plus the ghosts.”

Though she’s smiling, she shakes her head and lifts her own flash light.

“Alright then, let’s get these ghosts out here so I can get something to eat, I’m starving!”

Killian snorts.

“We just ate an hour ago, love.”

“Exactly!”

They walk down the hall, stopping in each room so Killian can check all corners while Emma explains what the rooms are for their viewers. Personally, she doesn’t think it needs to be done, but Killian told her the viewers liked it when she read.

Whatever that means.

“This room is Milah Gold’s,” Emma explains as they walk inside. “The morning she was found, Mr. Gold was already gone. He claimed to have been on a business trip out of town, but the help said they saw him on the grounds when Milah returned home the night before.”

“She was found in the bed.” She looks up at Killian’s voice and sees him shining the light on the grand bed in front of them. “So, of course, people say when they sit or lay on the bed, they see her.”

Her face scrunches up and she looks to the bed before turning to look straight into the camera.

“I’m not laying or sleeping on that old ass bed.”

Killian rolls his eyes. “No one said you had too, Swan.”

“Are you going to do it?”

He shakes his head. “Not bloody likely! I’m not having a ghost come after me.”

With another chuckle, Emma motions around the room, “Alright, should we get this over with so we can search the rest of the house and you can scare yourself?”

He presses his lips together and she giggles.

“You sure you’ll be alright in here alone, Swan?” Killian asks with a smirk. “Sure you won’t need to snuggle close to keep the ghosts away?”

Throwing a smirk at him over her shoulder, she responds, “If I need a snuggle, I’ll ask Liam.”

“I’m a perfect snuggler!” Liam says while tilting his head to the side to wink at her and she chuckles while Killian glares at his brother.

She watches the exchange with a furrowed brow and before she can ask what the problem is, Killian jerks his head toward the door. She can see Liam roll his eyes before he drops his camera off his shoulder and walks out without a word.

“Okay, what was that about?”

Killian’s smile is forced and when he lifts his own camera up to point at her, she knows he’s not going to explain to her what happened with Liam.

“Now Swan, you remember the rules. You’re alone in here for five minutes and if any beasties pop up, give a holler and I’ll come running in to save you.”

“The only person that saves me is me, Jones.”

His eyes search her face for a moment as the right side of his lips tick up before he nods and walks out the door. With a sigh, Emma turns toward the room and presses the button on the camera on her chest.

“Well, guys, here we are. I’m alone in Milah Gold’s room. Now, I know Killian always hopes for something to happen in places like this, but y’all know the drill with me. I’ll sit here and read more into this story while Killian sits in another room and convinces himself that he sees something.”

She’s not really sure if that’s what he does, but knowing how he acts when they are together, she wouldn’t put it past him. He’s constantly telling her he sees something in the distance and swearing that every noise is a ghost moving something. If she’s being honest, it’s kind of adorable the way his eyes light up and when he grasps her forearm, it makes her skin tingle.

Sometimes she can’t believe after two years he still has that effect on her, especially when she knows that nothing will ever happen, but if she’s being honest, it’s not something she wants to go away anytime soon.

A banging noise from the hall breaks her out of her thoughts and her head tilts.

“Killian?”

A few seconds pass with no response, so she shrugs it off and sits down to attempt to read the print outs Killian gave her. But of course, the words seem to jumble together and her thoughts wander back to Killian. For some reason, she thinks about the glare he threw Liam earlier and she tries to figure out why he would do that. It was a harmless flirtation and his brother’s in a relationship… there’s no chance either of them were serious.

Emma hears the noise again and puts down her papers.

“Hello?” Walking out into the hall, she lifts her flashlight to shine down the hall but sees nothing. “Killian? Is that you?”

There’s a creaking noise and she hates how it makes her heart beat a little faster. Giving a small curse under her breath, she continues to move forward with her flashlight up and when she hears something again, she turns off the camera on her chest and huffs.

“Killian if you’re trying to scare me, I’m going to kick the shit out of you.”

Again, she’s met with no response and when she turns down the hall, a large gasp leaves her lips. The woman standing before her has long, dark wavy hair and she’s wearing what appears to be a brown dress. Emma stumbles back, her head smacking against something on the wall.

“Ah, fuck!” She hisses, her hand going to her now throbbing head. Looking back to where she saw the woman, her brow furrows when she finds nothing but an empty hall. With her mouth fallen open, she goes to step forward when she hears an echo of voices behind her.

Her lips press together, and she gives the hall one final look before she turns. The wall behind her is just that, a wall, but she can still hear voices and it’s not until after she sees the mounted intercom that she rolls her eyes. A soft chuckle passes her lips and she reaches up to rub the forming bump on her head. She’s about to walk back to the room she was in when she hears voices come from the intercom.

_“I just don’t understand why you continue to torture yourself like this, little brother.”_

_“Younger, and will you just let it go, it’s none of your concern.”_

Emma’s brow furrows as she tilts her ear closer to the intercom. Liam _never_ speaks while they are filming, and if he does, it’s always to comment on an angle of something or a glare from a flashlight, that’s it. So, she finds it a little strange to hear a full conversation going on between the two brothers

_“You made it my concern when you begged me to continue filming her that first month. She knew how to do it herself after our initial meeting, there was no need for me to continue to go there.”_

_“Liam…”_

_“Killian why not just tell her how you feel?”_

Emma blinks and looks toward the intercom for a moment, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. As far as she knew, Killian wasn’t seeing anyone, but then again, she’s never really asked him. Taking a deep breath, she’s about to walk away when she feels something _push_ her back toward the wall.

“What the—”

_“What would be the point, Liam? You all know I fancy her, hell, everyone that watches the bloody channel knows I’m in love with her—Emma has to know, too, and she hasn’t said anything.”_ She snaps back at the sound of her own name, completely forgetting how she wasn’t able to do so a moment before, and her mouth falls open. _“Which tells me she doesn’t feel the same way. I know she’s a good friend, and she would never wish to hurt me, so it’s—”_

Emma doesn’t hear the rest because she’s storming down the hall toward the stairs. Red, hot, rage is coursing through her veins and all she can think about is punching Killian square in his stupid, good looking face. For two fucking _years_ they’ve been doing this show together and for two fucking _years_ he’s never _once_ said anything about being in love with her. Hell, she thought he hated her when he first started to come around, thought that maybe he knew about her little crush or knew about her habit of watching him out in the courtyard which made him think she was weird… but this?

Liam and Killian both jump as she storms into the room and Killian quickly stands with his eyes wide.

“Swan, what’s—”

“Are they off?” They both raise their brows in question and she motions to the camera that’s sitting at Liam’s feet and to the one that is hanging from Killian’s neck. “The cameras… are they off?”

“Oh, uh, aye, we were—” Before he can finish, Emma storms up to Killian and shoves him hard in the chest causing him to stumble back and Liam to step forward with his hands up. “Bloody hell, what you do that for?”

“Two years, Killian!” She growls. “We’ve been working together for two fucking _years_ and you never thought to tell me that you were in love with me?!” His eyes grow wide and they frantically move to Liam before back to her. “What was it? Were you making some sort of video diary that you planned to post about your _journey_ or whatever stupid ass things people do now because there’s no fucking privacy in the world?”

“What?” Killian gasps as he steps forward. “No! I would never do that to you, you must know that!”

“Then why wouldn’t you tell me? What did you think I didn’t deserve to know?”

“Of course you deserved to know… that’s not why…” He trails off and Emma notices how Liam slips out of the room without a word. “How did you hear us? I thought you were waiting upstairs?” From the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees dark wavy hair along with a brown dress again, but when she looks, it’s gone. “Emma?”

Looking back to Killian, her anger comes back, and she motions to the intercom sticking out of the wall. “Did you forget how old this house is?”

Killian briefly closes his eyes and his lips move, though she can’t make out what he says before he’s stepping to her, a look of desperation on his face. “I didn’t tell you because…”

He trails off again and she waits a moment, giving him time to answer. When it’s clear he’s not going to she slaps her hands on her thighs and asks, “Why then? Do you think I’m too broken to be able to deal with someone having feelings for me, is that it?”

“Emma, stop!” He pleads, his hands moving to cup her elbows until she backs away and he sighs, “You know I think the world of you!”

“I don’t know anything anymore!”

This time when he moves to grasp the tops of her arms, she doesn’t step away. Instead she takes a deep breath and clenches her fists to keep from punching him.

“You know _me_ ,” he insists, his voice soft and low. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

Searching his eyes, she finds no hint of a lie, and for some reason, it makes her even more angry. How could he not tell her? How could he not even _mention_ it? He knows what she’s been through in the past, knows that she’s been lied to and hurt and…

She shoves him back again with a small growl.

“You should have said _something_.” His entire face shows desperation and if she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was only seconds away from breaking down. “I _trusted_ you, and you lied to me!”

“No, I didn’t lie,” he pleads. “I just…”

She snorts at his inability to respond and turns to walk out, stopping only when he grasps her elbow.

“Killian, let me go!”

“Say I did tell you,” he starts, his eyes moving frantically over her face and she swallows the lump that’s formed in her throat. “Say I asked you out the moment that I truly wanted to… what would have happened?”

Taking a deep breath, she looks up at him and mumbles, “We’d probably still be together.”

Emma doesn’t miss the way his eyes appear to light up but before he can say anything, she does what she’s always done… she runs.

* * *

Emma spends all day Saturday going back and forth with herself about going to the school on Sunday. Since Graham is still a TA, her and Killian still have access to the recording studio on the college campus and every Sunday, they meet there to edit and record their new episodes. Only, there’s no new episode to record because she stormed out before they could finish it.

She could just stay home, she tells herself. It’s not like anyone will be surprised when there’s no new episode. Especially since Killian posted on their pages official Facebook that there won’t be one.

It was a picture of her and Killian sitting behind their desk, he has his arm around her while she leans into him with the caption:

**‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, Captain Swan Investigations will not be airing this week. Stay tuned for future updates!’**

She wanted to be mad at him for it, how _dare_ he make that sort of announcement without consulting her, the damn channel was _hers_ first before he came along, but she can’t find it in her. Killian took over the social media aspect of everything once he started and the only time he consulted her about anything was when there would be requests for stories to be told, and the truth is, the channel was nothing before he started. It was just her talking to a camera in a monotone voice while she tried not to act like an idiot. Then Killian entered and there were debates, interesting facts that she would have never located, and laugher and she had no problem changing the name from Swan Investigations to Captain Swan Investigations.

It was the viewers that came up with the name _Captain Swan_ because on his first official episode, he chose a story about pirates and insisted on being called Captain. She remembers how she joked with him about they have an official _shipper_ name and he shrugged it off.

_“They give names for everything now a days, love. It doesn’t mean anything other than friendship.”_

Emma soon found out that was a lie.

Another thing she does on Saturday is spend an unhealthy amount of time going through every comment on every post their channel has made on _every_ social media platform since Killian started. It’s something she’s never done before, and to be honest, something she’ll probably never do again.

Most of the comments are okay, some are a little weird, and some are just downright fucking rude for no reason. But she blows past them—along with the ones that seem to just go on and on about how _gorgeous_ Killian is—and concentrates on her search.

**_Truecrimecouldnthandleit commented: UGGHHHHHHH did you see the way he smiled at her? EMMA, GIRL! What are you waiting for?_ **

**_Wintersoilderjen commented: he’s blushing. This is so cute._ **

**_PirateHero commented: Can someone explain to me how I’m supposed to concentrate on the true crime they are talking about when they are being this damn adorable???_ **

“Nothing other than friendship my ass,” she mumbles to herself before switching over to Instagram.

Ignoring the notifications of follower requests—her personal social media is private and it’s going to stay that way—she finds the channel’s page and starts to thumb through some comments on there. Especially on the picture of her and Killian from Liam’s birthday last month.

**_Laurielu: Killian! I know you read these, WE HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU AND EMMA._ **

**_Ramblingsofamillennial commented: CAPTAIN SWAN FOREVER!!_ **

Emma then decides to look at their tagged photos and it’s like she’s hit the lottery. Most of the posts are just screenshots from their channel, reposts of pictures Killian’s posted on the channel’s page and pictures that are clearly manipulations because she sure as hell would remember them kissing.

She thumbs through more reposts, some pretty damn good fan art and more manipulations when a video catches her eye. Clicking on it, Emma hears the lyrics from Maroon 5’s _‘She Will Be Loved’_ being to play as she watches clips of her, and Killian compiled together. There are clips of them laughing, along with times they’ve— _Killian’s_ —goofed around, but the main ones are clips of Killian watching her or smiling at her during times she’s not paying attention, and at the very end, there’s the clip of her laying her head on his shoulder, while he looks down at her and blushes… he _actually_ blushes.

After that Emma throws her phone and decides she’s done enough searching. Her stomach is growling so she moves to make herself something to eat and pretends that she doesn’t know she’s going to spend the rest of Saturday night thinking about Killian.

* * *

Emma tells herself that she’s only going to the school to drop off the camera’s she took with her Friday by mistake—she didn’t want Liam to not have them in case he needed them—and the reason she didn’t do it the night before was because she forgot.

She’s obviously lying to herself, but denial is a great thing.

There’s a piece of paper taped to the sound booth door when she approaches and her brow furrows as she reads the words written on it.

**Meet me in our old history class?**

For a moment, she wonders if it’s not meant for her. Maybe one of the students left it Friday and they just forgot it… but the handwriting is annoyingly perfect, and she just _knows_ it’s for her. Plucking the note off the door, she reads it a few more time before eventually turning to the right.

Emma walks down the hall, her boots making a little squeaking noise across the marble floor as she nears her old history class. She remembers her and Killian’s last class in that room, he was done with his final before her and when he stood to gather his belongings, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and whispered _“Good luck”_ in her ear before he took his own test down to the teacher.

The warmth of his lips on her skin stayed with her for the rest of the day.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Emma’s heart begins to pick up as she sees Killian standing outside of the classroom. He’s pacing while running his hand through his hair and she realizes that if she really wanted to, she could leave, and he would never know.

“Swan.”

The way he says her name makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It’s like a breath of relief and the way his entire body appears to relax the second their eyes meet makes her stomach flip. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her red, leather jacket, she nods to him.

“So, I’m here…”

“Aye,” he breathes out, his hands lifting toward her for a quick moment before he clears his throat and pulls them back. “Thank you for coming.”

She waits a moment before she asks, “How did you know I would come?”

Killian’s eyes move to the floor for a brief moment and when his gaze returns back to hers, he winces a little.

“I didn’t, but I hoped you would.”

They stare at each other for what seems like hours before Emma finally blows out a breath and shrugs.

“So… why are we here and not in the sound booth?”

“Because of something you said Friday night.” She shakes her head, mumbling his name and he jumps forward to grasp her arms. “Emma, love, please. If you’ll only just hear me out… after that, you can storm out of here and never speak to me again if you wish.”

“You want me to never speak to you again?”

He chuckles dryly as his thumb lightly presses into the curve of her elbow.

“Emma, I’m _in love_ with you—” Her breath hitches at his confession. “—of course that’s not what I want, but if it would make you happy, then far be it for me to try discourage it.”

Pressing her lips together, her eyes search his face before she finally nods. “Alright, I’ll listen.”

Killian’s blue eyes light up and his cheeks crease from his smile. He ushers her into the empty classroom and Emma takes notice to how not much has changed in the year and a half since she’s been in there.

“Not there!” She stops mid sit with both of her brows raised to her hairline while Killian points behind her. “Third row, two seats down.”

She decides not to ask him why and just listens. When she sits, Killian begins to squirm on his feet and it’s not until she motions for him to continue that he finally moves.

“Right then.”

Her confusion only rises when he all but jogs past her. She turns to watch him sit in a seat a few rows back and to the left and waits. For a while, he does nothing but stare at her with his head tilted until she finally has enough.

“Killian, what—”

“I had gone out the night before drinking with Dave and Robin, I can’t seem to recall for what reason, but nonetheless, I drank so much that I spent every moment before class started sitting here wondering why I didn’t just stay in bed.” He places his elbows on the desk and leans forward, motioning to a seat in front of him. “There was a lass sitting here with red hair, she was watching something on her phone that made her laugh and I remember it made my head pound. Then she called out to someone… that someone’s name was Emma.” She blinks, her brows furrowing as she tries to remember the day he’s describing. “I cracked open an eye and that’s when I saw you.”

Killian’s not looking at her anymore, but to the seat he motioned to before.

“You were wearing a red flannel over a gray tank top; your hair was in a high ponytail and you had on your black framed glasses.” Her stomach does another twist and he continues, “I remember thinking that I had fallen asleep, because it couldn’t be possible that a woman as beautiful as you would be in my history class. But there you were, leaning down to watch whatever video was playing on the lass’s phone and then you laughed, and I was a goner.” His gaze moves back to her and he smiles. “I watched you that entire class, I watched as you chewed on your pen cap while you listened to the professor prattle on, and I watched as you rolled your eyes when you’d get annoyed.”

Looking at him becomes too much, so Emma turns to the front and sinks down in her chair.

“I planned on approaching you after class… but Will stopped me for something and by the time I got him to bugger off, you were gone. I told myself that I would speak to you at the next class, but then I got nervous and well… you know how the rest goes.”

Emma snorts. “Yeah, you had your brother’s boyfriend trick me into starting this channel so you could talk to me.”

She hears the chair creak behind her before he says, “No, love. Graham approached you all on his own. I had no idea what Liam was doing until I saw him packing up his truck and he told me, and even then, I failed in speaking to you.”

“What’s the point of this, Killian?” She asks in a whisper, her eyes closing briefly.

“Righting a wrong,” he mumbles before she hears movement from behind her. Opening her eyes, she turns to her right to see Killian sitting down next to her and she opens her mouth to ask him again what he’s doing when he holds out his hand. “Hello there, I’m Killian Jones.”

“What are you doing?”

He ignores her question and pulls his hand back, though the smile never falls from his face.

“What I should have done that very first day I saw you… I’m asking you out.” When she doesn’t answer, Killian’s hands twitch as he scoots to the edge of the seat and closer to her. “Would you perhaps be interested in having lunch with me? I know this diner around the corner that makes the best grilled cheese you’ve ever tasted.”

Her lips twitch at the mention of her favorite food and she tilts her head.

“What makes you think that after what happened Friday night I’ll say yes?”

Killian appears to get nervous again, and he looks down at his lap for a quick moment before looking back up at her.

“Because… I _think_ the reason you were so upset with me is because you _might_ have feelings for me, too.” Her lips part and he lifts his right shoulder in a half shrug. “Maybe?”

Licking her bottom lip, she gives two quick nods which makes Killian’s smile grow large. He leans forward to place his left arm behind her on the chair while he rests his right elbow on her desk so that he may brush his finger along her jaw.

“I thought you knew,” she confesses under her breath. “I thought that’s why you wouldn’t talk to me in the beginning.”

Killian chuckles. “Believe me, Swan, if I knew, what you said Friday would be true… we’d still be together.”

Her eyes search his and when she finds nothing but truth and devotion staring back at her, she finally allows the smile to pull at her lips before she raises her hand to cup his face.

“Are we really going to do this?”

He rests his forehead against hers and Emma can feel his breath on her face.

“If you’ll have me.”

“As long as you promise me we don’t have to do anymore haunted houses this year.”

With a smile, he captures her lips in a searing kiss after whispering, “As you wish.”


End file.
